Johnson antes up for the poker vote

Gary Johnson barely registers in GOP presidential polls, but he is attracting considerable attention from one constituency: poker players.

The former New Mexico governor is reaching out to this unconventional bloc of voters by adding a poker-themed page on his website, attending poker-related events and even posting messages in online poker fan forums.

Story Continued Below

He headed to Las Vegas Thursday for a three-day swing, starting with a speech to the “2+2” party that kicks off the World Series of Poker tournament. On Friday afternoon, he has an event scheduled with the Poker Players Alliance.

It’s an unusual strategy, but it’s one that’s well suited to the former two -term Republican governor’s beliefs—and possibly to his fundraising efforts.

Johnson’s libertarian bona fides– he supports the legalization of marijuana, for example – make him an attractive candidate to the online poker community, a sizable group of enthusiasts that has been up in arms since April, when the Department of Justice cracked down on three major online poker websites and indicted 11 individuals.

“Earlier this year, when the Department of Justice abruptly shut down a number of online poker sites and seized bank accounts, including ones holding players’ funds, a number of Governor Johnson’s supporters were outraged and brought it to his attention,” said Johnson spokesman Joe Hunter. “Governor Johnson was similarly disturbed by the government’s actions, and the result is an on-going dialogue with the online poker community.”

In one web forum for poker players, his campaign posted a thread titled, “Why Should Poker Players Get to Know Gary Johnson.”

The thread, which was created on June 28, describes Johnson as a “long-time defender of personal freedom – and that freedom includes your right to play online poker.”

“As President, I will do everything in my power to restore your right to play online poker, and ensure that such a right can never be taken away again,” the post continues.

The message-board post directs readers to a special page on Johnson’s website geared toward poker players, which reiterates Johnson’s commitment to less government restriction of “lawful commerce” like poker.

“It’s your money,” the page on Johnson’s website reads. “The federal government should not be involved in restricting lawful commerce that doesn’t harm anyone.”

The page also asks players to “ante up” for Johnson in the form of animated poker chips that lead to the candidate’s contributions page.

Johnson’s campaign posted the page on June 22, six days before starting the thread in the 2+2 forum.

So far, his efforts seem to be meeting with enthusiasm.

The website PokerNews wrote Wednesday that Johnson’s overtures toward “the poker-player constituency” are a rare treat from presidential hopefuls and major politicians.

“Even today, only a fringe candidate would go out on that ledge to court poker players,” wrote PokerNews. “But for any candidate at all to see value in the poker vote is progress.”

It’s not exactly an insignificant group: the Poker Players Alliance, a nonprofit group for online and offline poker players, has more than a million members, according to its website.